


Who You Really Are

by tabbytabbytabby



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Awesome Danny Mahealani, Cuddling & Snuggling, Danny Deserves Nice Things, Danny Knows, Derek Hale Deserves Nice Things, Derek Hale Leaves Beacon Hills, Derek Hale is a Softie, Falling In Love, First Kiss, Fluff, Getting Together, Getting to Know Each Other, Happy Derek Hale, Love Confessions, M/M, Post-Season/Series 04
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-19
Updated: 2018-07-19
Packaged: 2019-06-12 20:31:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,238
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15348147
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tabbytabbytabby/pseuds/tabbytabbytabby
Summary: Derek leaves Beacon Hills because he wants a fresh start. He wants to find someplace he can just be free and be happy. He finds that in New Orleans. There he also finds Danny Mahealani. The two grow closer and find something in each other they never knew they needed.





	Who You Really Are

**Author's Note:**

  * For [GlitterCake20](https://archiveofourown.org/users/GlitterCake20/gifts), [snaeken](https://archiveofourown.org/users/snaeken/gifts).



> This is for Sammy and Cal who both wanted some Danny and Derek, and well I apparently couldn't resist.

Derek feels free here. He knows it’s a weird way to feel because for the most part he’s always been free. Not including the times he was kidnapped and held hostage, of course. But mentally he’s always felt like there was this cage around him. There was always something stopping him from really being able to live.

Since leaving Beacon Hills and all that misery behind him he’s finally been able to start over. He doesn’t have people looking at him either with pity or disdain or coming to him only when they need something. For the first time in a long time he’s just able to exist and be himself. It’s nice, but also a little daunting.

The first few months he isn’t sure what to do with himself. He floats around from town to town but never really stops. Then he does. He finds himself in New Orleans at some point and for the first time in a while he doesn’t feel the urge to leave. He doesn’t know what or why but something is telling him he should stay. So he does.

He gets a job at the local bookstore and finds a house to rent just outside of town but still near enough that he could walk if he needed to. He’s close but still far enough away to give him privacy should he chose to shift and run. Which he does. The back of his house leads to a big stretch of woods which allows him the freedom and privacy to run.

New Orleans is a busy place full of people of all walks of life. He loves it. Yet even with all the people around he keeps picking up on a scent, one that’s familiar in a way but not enough to put him on edge. Just enough to make him want to seek it out and figure out _why_ he knows it.

He gets his answer when he’s leaving work one day and he locks eyes with a somewhat familiar pair of brown ones. They both stop, staring at each other in shock. Derek can’t help but let his eyes rake in the man before him. He’s older, sure. It’s been years since he last saw him. But there’s still something comfortingly familiar about him.

He’s smirking when Derek looks back up and his voice is soft and deep, but full of amusement, "It's good to see you again, Miguel."

Derek rolls his eyes and grumbles out, “That’s not really my name. You know it’s Derek.”

Danny just smiles and walks closer, his eyes bright as he leans in, “Well then _Derek_ , why don't you let me get to know who you really are? Say over coffee?"

The “no” is ready on the tip on Derek's tongue but it never comes. Instead he finds himself smiling back and nodding, “Yeah that would be nice.”

Danny’s smiles grows as he starts off down the street, not even bothering to check if Derek is following before he starts speaking, “So there’s this great cafe down the street. It has the best coffee. Cafe Luna? Have you been there?”

“I have,” Derek says, falling into step beside Danny, “I go there all the time on my break.”

“Your break?”

Derek nods, “Yeah I work at the bookstore back there.”

“No way!” Danny says, “My uncle owns the shop! Small world.”

Normally that sort of thing would put Derek on edge, but it doesn’t. He might not know Danny all that well but he knows enough. He was always a good guy. He kept his head down and stayed out of trouble, even when they sometimes tried to drag him into it.

“Someone must have wanted us to run into each other,” Derek finds himself saying.

Danny stops with his hand on the door to the cafe and gives him a long look, “They must have.”

Derek isn’t usually one for small talk and trying to hold a conversation, but it’s surprisingly easy talking to Danny. He doesn’t try and force the conversation, content to let it lag every now and then. Derek appreciates it. He can’t even count how many times he’s had to sit through a conversation with people that were too afraid to just be in silence. It’s nice and comforting in its own way.

After that they exchange numbers and decide to meet up again. Derek isn’t sure what he expects to happen. Danny is a nice guy, sure. But it’s not like they were ever close. Except Danny does get in touch with him a few days later asking if he wants to grab lunch. Then it keeps happening. Before long they’re talking every day and hanging out a few times a week.

Sometimes Danny will come out to his place and Derek will cook dinner and they’ll drink wine out on his porch as they sit under a blanket and talk. It’s nice. Derek can’t remember the last time he let himself get this close to someone, or that someone wanted to get close to him without an ulterior motive, and he knows Danny doesn’t have one. He’s just a decent guy who for some reason saw something in Derek that made him want to get to know him and be his friend.

Because they are friends. Even if Derek sometimes looks at Danny and wonders what it would be like to be more. Sometimes it’s easy to ignore it. He’s used to repressing his feelings. Other times it’s hard. Like when they’re sitting cuddled up together on the couch watching a movie and he can feel the warmth of Danny’s body against his and smell his happiness and contentment and a hint of cedar and orange that is just uniquely Danny.

Derek doesn’t push it though. He knows if Danny were interested he would have said something in all the months they’ve known each other, but he never has. Derek has a good idea why at least. When he’d first started spending time with Danny he’d gotten a phone call from Jackson warning him not to try anything or he’d kick his ass. He’d also told him not to let himself get hurt. Derek had just rolled his eyes and huffed out an annoyed breath until Jackson had continued, “I’m serious man. Danny doesn’t date werewolves. It’s a rule of his. So just be careful.”

Derek had been cautious after that, whether he wanted to be or not. He knows Danny doesn’t hate werewolves. His best friend is one, after all. And he knows if Danny didn’t want him around he would have said something. He’s always been more forthcoming than most people.

He doesn’t mean to start avoiding him. It just happens. One day he gets busy at the store and can’t make lunch and then after that it keeps happening. He should have known that Danny would catch on. He’s not stupid. And of course he wouldn’t just let it go. So Derek isn’t the least bit surprised when Danny shows up at his house one night and slips inside as soon as Derek has the door open.

“So I talked to Jackson,” Danny says. “He told me you two had a talk.”

Derek knows there’s no point in denying it, “We did.”

Danny stops and turns to face him, his eyes flashing with a hint of anger, “And so what? You just decided you wanted to avoid me? Because of some shit Jackson said rather than actually coming to talk to me.”

Derek’s shoulders sag, “I didn’t know how or if there was even anything to discuss. And I never meant to avoid you. I just thought it might be better for me to have some time to accept this.”

“Accept what Derek?”

Derek shakes his head, “It doesn’t matter.”

“You know I told myself that I’d never get involved with another werewolf,” Danny says, surprising Derek. “And if this thing between us was just an attraction or purely physical I’d ignore it, but I can’t do that. Because this is bigger than that. I can’t explain it but ever since I saw you in the street that day I knew we were going to be part of each other’s lives. I never let myself think on just how much but now I am and it scares me.”

Derek nods, “I feel it too. I just…. Jackson told me you don’t date werewolves so I never thought anything would come of it. That no matter how you felt, what I am would always be hanging over us. But I’m not just a werewolf, Danny. It’s part of who I am, sure, but I’m more than that.”

“I know,” Danny says, moving closer and taking Derek’s face in his hands. “I _know_. Jackson had no right to tell you that. Even if it was true in the past, it doesn’t mean shit now.”

“It doesn’t?”

Danny smiles, his thumbs brushing over Derek’s cheeks. “It doesn’t. I didn’t fall in love with Derek Hale, the werewolf. I feel in love with Derek the man. The man who likes lemon and honey in his tea, and wears reading glasses and soft sweaters, and whose eyes crinkle at the corners when he smiles sometimes. Who makes me laugh and feel safe and is one hell of a cuddler. _That’s_ who I fell in love with. And I know that being a werewolf is part of that and I love that part of you too.”

Derek feels as if he’s breaking under the words only to be pieced back together again. He closes his eyes when Danny’s thumbs move up to brush the tears away. He takes a deep breath and opens his eyes to meet Danny’s chocolate brown ones, “I love you too. All of you. Danny, can I…?”

“You better,” Danny tells him, his lips twitching up into a smile. “I didn’t give you that big speech for you not to kiss me.”

Derek doesn’t need to be told twice. He leans in, lips meeting Danny’s in a soft kiss. Danny’s hands continue to caress his face as he kisses him. Derek is almost overwhelmed by how tender it is. He can’t remember the last time someone was this gentle with him.

“What now?” Derek finds himself asking when they pull back.

Danny doesn’t move his hands and Derek can’t help but lean into the touch. “Well right now I’m going to cuddle the hell out of my _hopefully_ boyfriend if he agrees,” Danny says, “And then tomorrow we’re going to go on our first date. And after that, well we’ll figure it out.”

Derek smiles, “I think I can get behind all of that. Especially the cuddling and boyfriend thing.”

“I knew you’d like the cuddling,” Danny says, pulling back slightly. He takes Derek’s hand and leads him towards the couch before laying down on his back and pulling Derek on top of him. Derek sighs and snuggles up close to him, letting himself lean in and nose at Danny’s neck. Danny just laughs, “Yeah okay, scent away.”

“You smell good,” Derek mumbles. “Like cedar.”

“It’s Armani,” Danny tells him.

“I like it,” Derek says. “You should always wear it.”

“I haven’t been as much because I didn’t want to upset that sensitive nose,” Danny says, bringing a hand up to brush through his hair, “Or mask my scent.”

“I can still smell you underneath,” Derek tells him.

“What do I smell like?” Danny asks.

“Cedar and oranges and happiness,” Derek says, pulling back to look at him.

“Good,” Danny says, “Because I am happy.”

“Me too.”

Danny smiles and places a kiss to Derek’s lips, “You deserve happiness Derek Hale. And I’m glad I can be at least a small part of giving you that.”

“No,” Derek says, “You’re a big part of it. You have no idea Danny. It took me a long time to get to a point where I could trust someone enough to let them in. Then you came along. For the first time it felt easy to just let myself be around someone. Seeing you has become the best part of my day.”

“Mine too,” Danny says, “So you can imagine how upset I was when you started avoiding me.”

Derek ducks his head, “I’m sorry about that.”

“I know you are. And if I wanted I could have come here and confronted you sooner but I thought I’d give you time to work through it. Then I realized that giving you space also meant allowing you to wallow and come up with reasons for us not to be together and well, as much as I respect you I wasn’t going to let you jeopardize your own shot at happiness.”

“I’m glad you didn’t,” Derek says. “Sometimes I do just need a kick in the ass.”

“At least you admit it,” Danny says, smiling down at him. “And I’ll be here to remind you just how much you deserve to be loved and cared for.”

Derek has no doubt he will. And he does. Every single day with his kisses and words and simple gestures. Derek does the same. Because if there’s anyone that deserves to know how loved and appreciated they are it’s Danny Mahealani. Lucky for both of them, they have plenty of days and nights ahead of them to keep showing each other just how important they are.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Kudos/Comments make my day. ♥  
> [My tumblr](http://tabbytabbytabby.tumblr.com/)


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